I have a suggestion. Don't name the bridge it allready has a name, if you name the bridge everyone will still refer to it as the "Narrows" or the "Narrows bridges." It would just be a waist of more money. But if city officials are so hell bent on dedicating the bridge after Oke, How about they put a big billboard on the toll booths that read "$$$The Bob Oke Toll Bridge$$$." I think that's more appropriate, name the toll booths after him instead!

As anyone who lives near the bridge must certainly know, Bob Oke was far from popular with the majority of the voters in the bridge area for the way the entire project was forced down our throats with no state or federal help to pay for any of the cost!
It is my opinion that it would add insult to injury to name the bridge after Bob Oke. Besides why waste more of our toll money to put up signs to agrandize a man, especially when everyone will continue to call the Bridges what they are "The
Tacoma Narrows Bridge", eastbound or westbound, old or new. Spend the time and effort in Olympia dealing with some of the really important issues like funding schools, health care, transportation, etc.!!!

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge should be the only name for the two bridges. Each span goes only one way.

By the way, what makes the legislators even think about changing the name of the bridge? Have they thought about paying for it?

Don't waste money naming a bridge that already has a name.

That guy was a puke...liar and deceiver..never ever did anything good for me.

This just goes to show the taxpayers of Washington State how screwed up our elected officials are. To waste time on such a lame topic as to what to name a bridge already with a name. I wonder if these Wack Jobs we call Government Officials can pull there heads out of there a$$es long enough to figure out there are more Important things to do then worry and waste time on naming the bridge.

After they install tolling on Snoqualmie Pass, build a toll-only financed Lake Washington crossing, and a a toll-only financed bypass to the downtown Seattle bottleneck, then it would be alright with me to rename the Tacoma Narrows bridge after Senator Bob Oke.

the Gerry M. Anders Bridge after the debacle they created to justify their flawed toll project. I agree that naming the bridge after Oke would be a slap in the face to all the toll payers. This idea shows just how disconnected some of our elected representatives are to reality.

Naming the bridge for a politician who went against the the will of the people who voted overwelming against it is just another slap in the face to those who opposed this solution to a complex transportation problem . The senators proposing this bill are from Seattle, (does he want the 520 bridge named for him?) and Rochester ( has he a need to use the bridge at all?) The bridge crosses the narrows, most of us refer to the bridge(s) simply as the "Narrows bridge". Let it be, the legislature should focus on important issues during this 60 day period

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge already has a name tying the two spans into one crossing. Bob Oke's name should not appear on the new structure as he did not represent his constituents nor should he be glorified for the debt placed on the people who adamantly opposed the tolling process. Our voices will not be diluted as was attempted in the Advisor Vote.

OK fine..if that Okie guy gets a bridge named after him, I want something named after ME!

Clue me in here. Is it "Oak" or "Okie". If its Okie, then having the bridge in Arkansas would just confuse the whole dang mess.

WHoa hole on here!!! SO are they moving the bridge now? We spend all this money on a brand new bridge and they are just going to move it to Little Rock??!!

Whas this world coming too!

The new span should be named the Gig Harbor Bridge - after the community that is paying the most for it, and to which it is linked. Tacoma already has a bridge named after it.

Please do not name it after Bob Oke, a person who worked to make it a toll bridge. I really like the suggestion of naming the toll plaza after him.

kind of has a nice ring to it. The Narrows Bridge will always be known as the Narrows Bridge be it I or II. It is in a way the identity of Tacoma, everyone has seen the famous footage of the bridge going down and probably remembers that it was in Tacoma Washington.If it were named the Bob Oke bridge no one would know that it was in Tacoma, could be in Arkansa for all they knew!
Just the humble opinion of a life long Tacoma citizen.

With all due respect to Mr. Oke, this renaming nonsense has got to stop. These type of issues, which most of the time turn controversial, distract the politicians who are using it to deflect spending any time on the really hard issues that this state needs to address. There were also plenty of other worthy people who contributed to the bridge being built. Fly a flag somewhere near on on the bridge with his name on it(and others) and be done with this sillyness.

With all due respects to Bob Oke, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge 2 does not need a name. Especially the name of a local politician. If there needs to be some recognition for Bob's work on the bridge legislation, then put a plaque somewhere or name the toll plaza for him. This bridge project was steeped in controversy from the beginning. If truth were known, Bob was not that helpful in getting the job done in the legislature. The bridge would have been built without him and probably sooner and cheaper. That said, he was a nice guy and had some good qualities. Name a place in Kitsap county for him or the onramp at 24th St. (which was a concession to wealthy contributors on Pt. Fosdick). Putting the toll-payers through another controversy and dredging up old hard feelings is not good public policy IMHO.
Besides, doesn't the legislature, especially Lois McMahan, have better things to do with their time there? Really?

I think it would be very confusing when the whole world knows the Narrows Bridge to suddenly have another name next to it or in place of it. Why not put a nice commemoritive plaque on the walking side to commemorate his vision? That's what they did up at Rainy Pass on the North Cascades Highway when it was finished, to commemorate the people who had the vision.

...and since the politician in question didn't pay for the bridge out of his own pocket, neither should it be named after him. I have to think that the other politicians who support naming it after Mr. Oke are doing so in hopes that something will be named after them some day.

Bob was just a small part of the effort. How about remembering the steel works,cement labors,tugboat crews,designers and managers and many more who constructed the bridge.It is disgusting the way politicians love to claim all the credit.

How ridiculous is this? It never ceases to amaze me how our legislatures find such creative ways to dodge real issues and waste their time over a big nothing. If they want to name something, name it on another waste of time: the bridge lights. Should it happen, name them "Bob Lights". As for the bridge, it will always be what we have known it to be: The "TNB".

This bridge is a reflection of the character of the South Puget Sound and its population....not just one man. My vote is NO!

With all due repect to Bob Oke and family, however, the man deceieved the people of the Peninsula who did not vote for that bridge. Changed his tune when the vote came overwhelmingly against. The vote was manipulated to add the folks who don't use the bridge. I have always been against tolls and always will. Mrs Gregoire need to use some of that surplus money to pay for this bridge. You politicians need to find something a little more important to lobby for.

No matter what it is finally named, people will call it the Narrows Bridge-- or Narrows II.

Naming that bridge after Bob Oke will just be another slap in the face to all the people who actually have to cross it, at a price of $3, every day.

No. No. No. NO!!! Bob Oke was a nice man but please do not name that bridge for him.

Having folks who do not cross the bridge on a daily bridge try to tell us, ONCE AGAIN, what to do
with that bridge just irks me. Let them name some bridge in Rochester or name some bridge in Seattle if
they're so hot to name a bridge.

It is an extension of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge so stick with that name, go ahead and name the toll plaza after him.

To name it after the sponsor would only give the lawmakers more incentive to promote their own expensive pet projects. If it's named after anyone, it should be the folks who pay for it through their tolls.

Considering how hard he worked to make it a toll bridge, perhaps we should name the toll plaza after him.

sounds good to me!.Haaaaaaaa

Just because the east and west bound lanes are not attached to the same physical structure does not make the west bound portion a "new bridge". You built an add-on, but the structure as a whole already has name; it collectively is the "Tacoma Narrows Bridge". Let's keep it simple and leave it that way.

It seems like this would be appropriate choice assuming that it is going to be named for someone. Honestly, though, I don't really think it should be named at all.